JAVIER Bardem is being courted by the producers of Pan, a Peter Pan origin story to be directed by Joe Wright (Atonement).

According to Deadline.com, Warner Bros. Pictures are eyeing the Spanish actor to play the pirate Blackbeard, the main antagonist in the forthcoming adventure movie.

Pan will be loosely based on the writings of J.M. Barrie, published during the early 20th century. The feature will depict how the orphan arrived in Neverland and became the hero of the Lost Boys after fighting Blackbeard and his band of pirates. His first meeting with Tinkerbell will also make an appearance in the movie, which is planned for filming in 2014.

Bardem, aged 44, can be seen in theatres now in Ridley Scott's The Counselor, a crime thriller featuring Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Bardem's wife Penelope Cruz. Currently, alongside Sean Penn, Bardem is on the set of Pierre Morel's The Gunman, an adaptation of French crime novelist Jean-Patrick Manchette's The Prone Gunman.

Javier Bardem has often been praised for his portrayal of villains, particularly in No Country For Old Men and Skyfall. – AFP Relaxnews